I had to create a system that facilitated cross platform and cross device group communication. Since people on the same platform chat use different proprietary tools such as Yahoo, MSN, AIM etc., the challenge was to bring all this communication on the same platform to offer a seamless end to end experience irrespective of the device, platform or community.

The application I worked on was essentially a messenger that allowed users to communicate real time across platforms and services. A single ID with MangoSpring’s application made sure that the contact in a person’s buddy list got the message despite his/her login status.

The processes and my role in the company encompassed: user research and domain study; making use cases and doing scenario planning for group communication for consumer market; building personas and scenarios detailing out the final aspects of the application; building information architecture and navigational structure; creating wireframes; creating product requirement document; designing the user interface for web as well as mobile platform.

I learnt that the designer is the one who keeps the people involved in a project tied together; she needs to be an avid team player. Also, it is necessary to understand a little about the domain that one is working in, even if it is familiar; like instant messaging for instance. The designer needs to step back from time to time to look at the work she has done through the eyes of a user. This makes a lot of difference.